Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/949296
CYCLE NEWS CRUISER BUYERS GUIDE Cotton-picking bad luck makes good motorcycles Suzuki Motorcycle 2018 Line up If you love a good Suzuki motorcycle, you can thank the cotton industry for doing you a great service. It collapsed. Michio Suzuki started his loom-manufactur- ing company in the 1920s. Making motorcy- cles wasn't even a dream at that point. Having said that, we know the man moved into the automobile business in the 1930s to diversify. This pesky little squabble known as "World War II" killed Suzuki's car aspirations as personal automobiles were deemed non-essential commodities. The war ended and the company went back to making and selling looms. At first it was all good; the United States al- lowed cotton imports into Japan, giving Suzuki a nice financial shot in the arm in the process. However, the collapse of the cotton market in 1951 killed any notions of more Suzuki looms. It also gave rise to one of the largest motorcy- cle companies in the world. Enter the motorized bicycle. Suzuki turned back to motor vehicles, only this time with two wheels instead of four. Faced with this colossal challenge, Suzuki returned to the production of motor vehicles. After the war, the Japanese had a great need for affordable, reliable personal transportation. Like Honda and Kawasaki, Suzuki rose to meet the de- mand for bicycles with clip-in gas engines. Its first two-wheeled conveyance was the "Power Free" which had a two-stroke 36 cc engine that made a whopping, one horsepower. By 1954, the manufacturer was making 72,000 motorcycles each year and had officially changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. Suzuki's represented in the V-twin cruiser world by its Intruder and Boulevard models. Ranging in size from the Intruder's 250cc twin up to the Boulevard M109R's 1783cc powerplant, the Suzuki cruiser family offers flexibility to fit your individual need for speed. What you won't find in their ranks is a full dedicated touring dresser with hard luggage and fairing along the lines of a Street Glide or a Gold Wing. The T touring variants do offer leather saddlery and clear windshields for those who want some of the bagger experience without the entire bagger experience.